Shopping with my girls

Well ok, my husband and my son came too. It started out as just me and the kids, and then at the last minute my husband decided he would come too.

Now unlike most husbands, mine does not hate shopping. He usually enjoys it as long as it involves coffee and a Cinnabon somewhere along the way. Only he wasn't counting on the fact that my oldest had a hair appointment as well. So combine that with the highway closures for construction and our trip started at 10 am didn't end until 6:30 pm.

We hit the mall and my girls headed to one of their favorite stores 'Urban Planet". Don't you love those stores that have huge signs saying "$5.00" in huge letters followed by the fine print that says "when you purchase 3 or more items". Oh, and I should mention, the kids were spending their own money today - not mine for once.

My oldest daughter is the smartest shopper and although it drives me crazy how much time she wastes wandering around the store instead of going from section to section, she will only buy something if she truly loves it. (She even does this when I'm buying!) My second daughter however, likes to spend the time whining about how much she would like to buy something if only she had enough money. Like that's my fault she's had to spend her allowance on replacing candy and other belongings of her siblings that she's broken or stolen.

Meanwhile my husband and my son have headed off to EB Games to spend his hard earned allowance. Actually my 9 year old son earns extra money by cleaning up any dead birds or mice that my cat decides to bring in as presents to us in the middle of the night. Or if there are "remains" on the front step or deck.

Finally we exit Urban Planet and meet the guys at Cinnabon. How can two little cinnamon buns for the kids cost over $6??? I can get a coffee and a blended lemonade at Starbucks for $5. Plus, those Cinnabon cinnamon buns always taste like they've not been baked long enough.

Then it's off to Locadia's hair salon for my oldest to get her hair relaxed again, and my middle daughter to get her extensions touched up. (Here's the funny part - my husband says "I guess we can eat lunch at home after her hair appointment." We girls look at him and laugh. Sorry honey, it's back to the mall after the hair appointment and lunch!)

What was supposed to be a 1 hour appointment ended up being two, as Locadia gave my oldest an extra heavy duty conditioning treatment. While this was all going on, my son entertained himself with the swivelling chair that goes up and down. Amazing how long that kept him entertained!

Then by mid-afternoon we were finished there and headed for a late lunch, early dinner at Milestones - love their Thai salad. My two oldest ordered full adult size meals - how did that happen that the kids meal no longer are enough for them???

Back to the mall for another couple hours of clothes shopping for sales. My kids and my husband did remarkably well. Thank goodness for air conditioning cause it was at least 35 C in Kelowna today!

Finally though, the money was all spent and we had to brave the heat and head for the car. We made it home without my middle daughter using her hair extensions as a weapon to annoy her siblings, right until we pulled off the highway. Which was actually good timing because it reminded me I needed to stock up on Mike's Hard Lemonade before we went home.

All in all, a pretty successful family outing.